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"Science fiction writers foresee the inevitable, and although problems and catastrophes may be inevitable, solutions are not."
- Isaac Asimov
 |
| Pilot Beam | ||
| A signalling device that space craft in orbit descending to Earth could home in on and land. |
Very early description of this useful idea.
| “Anything else before we clear?”
asked Lazarus. “Oh, yes — Zack,
we’d better arrange a place for me
to ground, or. I may shorten a lot of
lives with my blast.”
“That’s true. I’ve planned on it. Make your approach from the south. I’ll have your berth marked in the usual fashion.” “Better give him a pilot beam to come in on, too,” Ford warned. “Why?” asked Lazarus. “I don’t need one. I could set her down on the top of the Washington Monu- ment.” “Not tomorrow night you couldn’t. Don’t be surprised at the weather.” |
| From Methuselah's Children,
by Murray Leinster. Published by Astounding Science-Fiction in 1941 Additional resources -
|
Here's the landing sequence:
He wheedled her in, cut his last
jet as she scraped, and slapped a se-
ries of levers; the great cargo ports
rumbled open, and the rain beat in.
Compare to the space-beacon from Exploration Team, the 1956 story by Murray Leinster.
The thought was cut short by an
urgent signal from his board; he had
picked up Barstow’s pilot beam.
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More Ideas
and Technology from Methuselah's Children
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Tech news articles related to works by Murray Leinster
| Spaceships Should Last So Long |
| Space Station Shutters |
| MIT Proposes Space Bubbles To Combat Climate Change, Misses The Point Of Space Bubbles |
| Study Reveals Effect Of Space Travel On The Brain |
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Then some unknown race had chanced upon the dreamers and decided to 'help them out.'
'... you had your trademark Lucky Dragon Global Interactive Video Column outside.'
'It's an Indian Air Force drone; its solar cells could power an entire farm.'
'... we were supposed to be forming five unit composites first."
'We send our eyes on their appointed rounds, and they can hover or soar or back up...'
'Light from the sun hit those little spheres and bounced.'
'... the two pairs of waldoes in the screen followed in exact, simultaneous parallelism.'
